Abstract
White-tip reef sharks are common inhabitants of the shallow waters surrounding the Galapagos Islands, where several known aggregation sites have become touristic attractions. With the aim to describe site fidelity and residency patterns of the white-tip reef sharks in a saltwater creek, we used the ultrasonic telemetry method. The study was undertaken in a saltwater channel South of Academy Bay, Santa Cruz Island, from May 2008-September 2009. A total of nine transmitters were attached to sharks and ultrasonic receivers were deployed at the inner and outside areas of the creek. From the total of fitted sharks, four lost their transmitters. The results obtained with the remaining sharks showed an elevated use of the inner area of the channel during the day, with more use of the external area during the night. However, none of the sharks were detected at the site every day, suggesting that they may have a number of preferred sites within their home range. More studies are needed to detail the home range and habitat use of this species, and to guide its protection level in the Academy Bay area.
Highlights
Understanding animal movements is a key factor for the development of spatial management tools in multi-use marine reserves
Zonation schemes within these reserves should take into account human interests, but should incorporate key habitats or areas heavily utilized by species of interest
The total length (TL) of the tagged sharks ranged from 130-170cm (Table 1)
Summary
Understanding animal movements is a key factor for the development of spatial management tools in multi-use marine reserves. Zonation schemes within these reserves should take into account human interests (fishing, tourism, shipping), but should incorporate key habitats or areas heavily utilized by species of interest. A provisional coastal zonation scheme set up in 2002 was based mostly on a negotiation between fishers, who were interested in utilizing as much of the available fishing habitat as possible, the tourism industry, who wanted sites of interest to be designated No-Take Zones, and science and conservation groups which, due to a lack of information on marine organisms, recommended certain sites to be restricted to research and conservation activities, often based on the presence of turtle nests or sea lion colonies (Heylings et al 2002). The goal of the study was to determine whether individual sharks utilized this site over periods of several months, and whether their presence at the site could be attributed to predictable cycles such as the time of day or the tides
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